Understanding the impact of interruptions to HIV services during the COVID-19 pandemic: A modelling study

Abstract. Biogenic very short-lived bromine (VSLBr) represents, nowadays, ~ 25 % of the total stratospheric bromine loading. Owing to their much shorter lifetime compared to anthropogenic long-lived bromine (LLBr, e.g., halons) and chlorine (LLCl, e.g., chlorofluorocarbons) substances, the impact of VSLBr on ozone peaks at the extratropical lowermost stratosphere, a key climatic and radiative atmospheric region. Here we present a modelling study of the evolution of stratospheric ozone and its chemical losses in extra-polar regions during the 21st century, under two different scenarios: considering and neglecting the additional stratospheric injection of 5 ppt biogenic VSLBr naturally released from the ocean. Our analysis shows that the inclusion of VSLBr result in a realistic stratospheric bromine loading and improves the quantitative 1980–2015 model-satellite agreement of total ozone column (TOC) in the mid-latitudes. We show that the overall ozone response to VSLBr within the mid-latitudes follows the stratospheric abundances evolution of long-lived inorganic chlorine and bromine throughout the 21st century. Additional ozone losses due to VSLBr are maximised during the present-day period (1990–2010), with TOC differences of −8 DU (−3 %) and −5.5 DU (−2 %) for the southern (SH-ML) and northern (NH-ML) mid-latitudes, respectively. Moreover, the projected TOC differences at the end of the 21st century are at least half of the values found for the present-day period. In the tropics, a small (

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Reaching Men: Addressing the Blind Spot in the HIV Response

International Journal of Mens Social and Community Health ◽

10.22374/ijmsch.v1isp1.3 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 1 (SP1) ◽

pp. e57-e70 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Laura Pascoe ◽

Dean Peacock ◽

Lara Stemple

Keyword(s):

South African ◽

Gender Inequality ◽

Gender Norms ◽

Blind Spot ◽

International Policy ◽

Hiv Services ◽

Immunodeficiency Virus ◽

Delivery Strategies ◽

The Impact ◽

Related Mortality

Globally, men are less likely than women to access human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing, treatment, and care, and consequently experience disproportionate HIV-related mortality. To address men's underutilization of HIV services, efforts are needed on two fronts: challenging the regressive gender norms that discourage men from seeking health services, and developing improved health system policies, programs, and service delivery strategies to ensure better provision of HIV services to men. It has long been understood that harmful gender norms make women vulnerable to HIV, and this understanding should expand to include the way these norms also put men at risk. This paper presents the data concerning men and HIV, explores the impact of gender norms, examines national and international policy developments, and chronicles the evolution of men’s place in the HIV response. It does so in part by tracing the efforts of Sonke Gender Justice, a South African NGO working across Africa, as it promotes the engagement of men in the fight against the dual epidemics of gender inequality and HIV.

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